Bvans and 
Meggers] ARCHEOLOGY IN BRITISH GUIANA 913 
to aid in starting fires in wet weather. The substance probably had 
the same use among the Taruma. 
Raw materials—Manioc grater chips, and stones from which chips 
had been struck, are the most abundant type of stone raw material 
found in Taruma Phase sites. Both chips and cores show evidence of 
percussion flaking. AIl are felsite. Represented among the frag- 
ments are large pieces of primary raw material, and the intermediate 
stage, large percussion flakes. The latter are further worked by per- 
cussion to produce tiny triangular chips that are set into the grater 
board. 
Large hunks of decomposed granite, which is the tempering ma- 
terial of Yoché Plain, were found in considerable quantity at a 
number of sites (see Appendix, table 29). The irregularly shaped 
hunks, the majority of them badly weathered and very “rotten,” vary 
from crude percussion-struck flakes 1 by 1 cm. to rocks 10.0 by 7.0 by 
1.5 cm. 
Chips and occasional cores of chert, quartz, and sandstone appear 
to be the by-products of the manufacture of flake-scrapers, hammer- 
stones, axes, and perhaps other tools. Some may be the accidental 
results of hammering, since intentionally shaped tools appear to be 
rare. 
Portery TYPE DESCRIPTIONS 
Taruma Phase sites produced 14,364 potsherds, which were classified 
into three plain and five decorated types. The latter constitute 7.7 
percent of the total pottery, or 1,115 sherds. No complete or restorable 
vessels were found, hence the vessel shapes are reconstructed from 
sherds. Frequency and provenience of the sherds are given in the Ap- 
pendix, table 30. The types are designated by the binomial system, 
and are arranged in alphabetical order. 
KALUNYE PLAIN 
PASTE: 
Method of manufacture: Numerous sherds are broken on the coil line, indi- 
eating construction by coiling. Coils are 1 to 2 cm. wide. 
Temper: Fine, quartz-sand granules less than 1 mm. in diameter, moderate 
in amount and well distributed. Occasionally, larger particles of sand or 
flecks of black ash occur. 
Texture: Compact and fine-grained appearance to naked eye. Under 14X 
magnification, numerous minute holes can be seen. Good tensile strength. 
Rings when dropped on pile of sherds. Eroded surfaces, exposing the 
paste, have a hard, sandpapery texture. 
Color: The majority of sherds are orange throughout the cross section. 
However, the full range from orange to gray is represented, including 
sherds orange half-way through from either surface and gray for the 
remainder, and gray with orange bands along both surfaces. The orange 
varies from bright orange to light orange to brownish orange; the gray 
ranges from light to dark. 
Firing: Incomplete to complete oxidation. 
